| Fen | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Fen McKenzie |
|
First Appearance |
Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (April, 1939) |
|
Original Publisher |
First Funnies, Inc. |
|
Created by |
Bill Everett |
Origin
Fen, the "Beautiful Goddess of the Seals," had previously been married to a surface-dweller and given birth to a human/sub-mariner hybrid, whom she named Namor. When Namor ran afoul of some surface-dwellers, killing them and taking their bodies to his home, his mother commended him for his deed and told him to deliver the bodies to their own kind so they could see the beginning of Atlantis' revenge against the humans.
Weaknesses
A member of the race called "Sub-Mariners," Fen could not live out of water for longer than five hours.
Public Domain Appearances
- Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1
- Marvel Comics #1
Notes
- Neither of the appearances listed above (which are both the same story, one in black and white, the other in color) were renewed in their 28th year which, per copyright law at the time, caused them to enter the public domain.
- Fen was not an Atlantean in these appearances, nor was she from the kingdom of Atlantis! Her people were known as "sub-mariners" and the kingdom went nameless. The Atlantis connection was made by Marvel decades later.
- Also missing in these appearances, is any claim of Fen being royalty! In one panel, she does order the bodies of the dead humans taken to "the royal chamber" however, she is never stated to be a member of the royal family. She could, just as easily, simply have been their head maid!
- Having said that, Bill Everett has stated that he chose the name "Namor" for her son because he wanted something unique yet, regal sounding so chose "Roman" backwards... strongly suggesting he must have had a "royal" status in mind for the character at the time of creation.